TUESDAY, MAR. 25, 2025
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Dear New Yorkers,
After President Trump’s transportation secretary trashed the subway as a “shithole,” baffled MTA and NYPD officials pointed to a nearly 30% drop in major transit crime from a year ago.
The head of the NYPD Transit Bureau conceded Monday that the subway is struggling with a safety perception problem — even as the number of robberies, assaults, burglaries and grand larcenies has gone down with the latest influx of police officers onto stations and trains.
“Over the past two months, we’ve seen a 28.2% reduction in crime, which amounts to 110 fewer victims compared to the same period last year,” he told of the MTA board during a transit committee meeting. “I mean, those numbers speak for themselves.”
“I think people love to pick on New York, people really hate what New York is,” added Samuel Chu, an MTA board member.
Another board member said the transportation secretary’s words were “a real slap in the face” to police officers, who since January have been stationed on every train overnight.
Read more here about the latest development in the MTA’s expanding battle with the feds over congestion pricing and public safety.
Weather ☀️
Clear skies and sun, with highs in the mid 50s.
MTA 🚇
There’s no 6 train in The Bronx between Westchester Square and Pelham Bay Park from 9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, Mar. 25.
By the way…
How well are the kids in your neighborhood protected against measles? Check this new map from Gothamist to find out.
Our Other Top Stories
- Aunque el español es un vínculo con sus raíces, dominar esta lengua no es lo único que determina el sentido de pertenencia de los puertorriqueños de Nueva York hacia la cultura, la historia y las tradiciones de Puerto Rico.
- After eight Black elected officials from Southeast Queens put out a t statement saying they were endorsing Andrew Cuomo for mayor, three of them said that, actually, they’re not doing that (and, in one case, won’t be ranking Cuomo at all). Guest Jeff Coltin of Politico New York, who broke that story over the weekend, talks with our hosts on the latest episode of FAQ NYC — listen here.
Reporter’s Notebook
Council Report Questions City’s Push for More ‘Involuntary Removals’
Forty percent of the people who were taken to hospitals against their will for mental health evaluations in New York City last year were not itted, while Black New Yorkers made up more than half of all “involuntary removals” despite being just 23 percent of the city’s population, according to an analysis of city data released by City Council Monday.
The report argued the mayor’s “narrow focus” on the removals has become an obstacle to funding other mental health initiatives like community based mental health clinics and mobile treatment teams. The mayor has touted the removals as a way to connect homeless New Yorkers in the subway system with needed s, but the city data shows that most of the 7,060 people taken last year were removed from private residences. Just 1,558 people, or about one in five, were removed from a subway or other public space.
Asked about the council’s analysis at his weekly off-topic press briefing, Mayor Eric Adams, who is pushing state lawmakers to broaden the definition of who can be brought to a hospital against their will, defended the city’s efforts. “They told me in the beginning of this istration, ‘Eric, don’t do it. No matter what you do, they’re gonna criticize you.’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t care. I am not going to allow New Yorkers to live on the streets, harm themselves and harm others merely because I’m afraid of the noise.’ And the history is gonna show that we are making inroads.”
– Gwynne Hogan
Things To Do
Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.
- Tuesday, Mar. 25: Watch cult film Ghost World (2001) at the Ottendorfer Library in the East Village. 5 p.m.
- Wednesday, Mar. 26: Attend an here.) CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan, 6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Mar. 26: The NYPL is opening up the Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne Archive to the public, including never-before-seen material penned by the famed writer and her husband. See it at the Stephen A. Schwarzman library.
THE KICKER: Today is the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which killed 146 workers — mostly young immigrant women — in 1911. Commemorate the anniversary with speakers and performances at Washington Place and Greene Street, today at 11:30 a.m.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Tuesday.
Love,
THE CITY
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